Maniolas

Filipinos watch fireworks light up the sky to welcome in the New Year in Manila, Philippines, Saturday Jan. 1, 2011. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez) MANILA (Mabuhay) – A proposal to regulate the use of firecrackers by imposing a 20-percent excise tax on their sale remains stuck at the House Ways and Means committee, with the Department of Finance (DOF) yet to submit its position paper on the measure. “We are awaiting the DOF position, their estimates,” said committee chairman Marikina City Rep. Romero “Miro” Quimbo. Although the panel has been deliberating on House Bill 3685 since last year, Quimbo said its passage will depend on its enforceability. “The basic philosophy is that we don’t pass a revenue measure that is not administratively feasible,” he said. The proposal, authored by Ako Bicol party-list Reps. Rodel Batocabe and Christopher Co, seeks to amend Section 150-A, Chapter VI of RA 8242, otherwise known as the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, by imposing a 20 percent excise tax on firecrackers. Republic Act 7183, the law on firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices, only prohibits and penalizes the sale of illegal firecrackers. Representatives from the firecrackers industry have opposed the measure, saying locally manufactured firecrackers and pyrotechnics comprise only 20 percent of the market. Celso Cruz of the Philippine Pyrotechnics Manufacturers and Dealers Association of the Philippines Inc. (PPMDAPI) and Joven Ong of the Philippine Firecrackers Association (PFA) told lawmakers at the committee hearings that the local firecrackers industry will suffer if HB 3685 becomes a Read More …

By Jean-Louis De La Vaissiere Visiting Pope Francis makes his farewell bow to the Filipino people before entering the Philippine Air Lines (PAL) plane that flew him back to Rome on Monday (Jan. 19, 2015) from Villamor Air Base in Pasay City. (MNS photo) Manila, Philippines | AFP | Monday 1/19/2015 – Masses of cheering believers in the Philippines turned out to bid farewell to Pope Francis Monday,a fitting end to a week in Asia that saw him draw record crowds and campaign relentlessly for the poor. The pontiff visited Sri Lanka as well as the Philippines on his second trip to Asia in five months, seeking to promote the Catholic Church in one of its most important growth regions. More than one million people gathered along his motorcade route in the Philippine capital of Manila on Monday morning for a final glimpse of Francis, the city’s planning agency chief, Francis Tolentino, told AFP. The 78-year-old pontiff showed no signs of fatigue from a gruelling week on the road, smiling and waving to the crowds from an open-air “popemobile” on the way to the airport. President Benigno Aquino then led a red-carpet farewell on the tarmac, as children sang and danced, before the pope gave a final wave to the Philippines and boarded his plane to return home. Sunday saw one of the highlights of his Asian journey, with six million people turning out in Manila as he celebrated mass—a world record for a papal gathering. The Philippines is famed as Read More …

Sarah Geronimo (MNS photo) Pop star Sarah Geronimo expressed her joy over portraying Rapunzel from “Tangled” in Disney’s 2015 calendar to be released in Southeast Asia, following the release of her version of the Disney tune “The Glow” in December. “Siyempre when I was told na gagawa ako ng project with Disney, sabi ko ‘Wow, totoo ba ito?’ Siyempre hindi ako makapaniwala at first, pero, ‘yun, very, very happy and thankful sa Disney kasi kinonsider tayo ng kanilang campaign, ng project nila at not just one project kung hindi dalawa. So, talagang nagpapasalamat ‘yung puso ko,” Geronimo said. The calendar features 12 Disney Princess characters for each month, including ABS-CBN star Kim Chiu as Mulan. Actresses from Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia were also tapped for the project.According to The Walt Disney Company, Geronimo and Chiu were chosen for “embodying positive values and serve as good role model for children.” Referring to her rendition of “The Glow,” the official Disney Princess theme song that debuted in 2011, Geronimo added: “Siyempre naka-record ako ng song for Disney. Makita ko naman ‘yung sarili ko as a Disney Princess ay sobra-sobra na, sobra-sobrang blessing na sa akin so I’m very, very happy.” Asked for her reaction to feedback that she fits the role of Rapunzel, the singer replied: “Thank you, thank you, siyempre may kanya kanya silang take sa mga bagay-bagay pero ipagpapasalamat ko po yung positibong kinokomento nila.” “Maraming salamat po na na-appreciate nila na ako ang nag-represent ng character ni Rapunzel dito Read More …

After a debtor receives a discharge in bankruptcy, creditors whose debts are discharged are required to report that the account has a zero balance. The fact of the filing itself can remain on the credit report for 10 years from the date it was filed. A debtor interested in re-establishing credit after bankruptcy should obtain credit reports from the 3 largest credit reporting agencies, (Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union) and ensure that the account balances have all been zeroed out. If not, the debtor should contact the credit reporting agencies and ask that the record be corrected Methods of Re-Establishing Credit A debtor seeking to re-establish credit should consider applying for a secured card, usually a Visa or Master Card. This is a credit card issued by a bank to a customer who is required to establish a savings account at the bank, which is used as security or collateral for the card. Typically, the limit on the card is based on the amount of collateral put up in the form of the savings account. Often, the bank will have an annual fee. The benefit of the secured card is that banks will issue them to persons with poor credit reports in the past, but who have the ability to pay the deposit to secure the account. Major store cards are also a good addition to building credit. Once you have a major credit card, even a secured card, it’s usually all that’s required to open an account at a Read More …